We traveled to Zurich to enjoy the scenery, antiquing and the long summer days. Zurich is one of the safest cities in Europe. It’s a smaller European capital with a city population of slightly under 400,000 and an amazing transportation system that’s easy to use. We even took the wrong tram a couple of times but after a few stressful moments, were able to find our way. If you plan to take the train, be sure to download the SPP app to help with the train schedules. There are four official languages in Switzerland, the most commonly used is German. But, almost everyone speaks some English. Hotel bargains are possible but they can be expensive and the food in the restaurants is very expensive by US standards.

We stopped at the Saturday flea market at Bürkliplatz, a square in central Zurich. Many of the antiques and collectibles we saw are more common in Switzerland than in the U.S. A local told us that the auctions had better prices, but from what we saw the prices were good and far less than the stores. The market itself had lots of used clothing and leather goods intermixed with the usual flea market fare. We saw a giant cow bell awarded to a cow in Bern, Switzerland. It was only $186 which was significantly less than the much smaller ones found in tourist stores at $310 with no historical value.

 

Digging Deeper

Toys made by the German company Maerklin (spelled Märklin in the U.S.) are very collectible in Europe. They are especially well known for their toy trains. Maerklin made the smallest commercially available model railway with gauge known as the 1:220 scale, Z series in 1978. As with many toys, the boxes add value. It is also possible to date the toy from the print run number on the box. The last digits represent the month and year the box was printed. Vintage Maerklin toys can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.